The use of a bulkhead or retaining wall to separate land from water is, in general, well known in the art. Typically, such a bulkhead is used to contain and retain the earth, sand, gravel, or other such material comprising the adjacent land, and protect it from erosion due to wave action, surface water runoff, or other adverse environmental effects. Bulkheads can also be used to build the land up above the surface of the water to allow greater land usage.
Often it is desired to place some massive or rigid supporting members or material against a bulkhead on the landward side. The supporting members may have a flat surface that can be placed against the bulkhead. For example, the supporting members may comprise wooden timbers, metal beams, concrete blocks, or plastic channel. A problem exists with some types of prior art bulkheads in that they do not present a correlatively shaped surface on the landward side against which the supporting members can be placed in order to distribute the load on the bulkhead uniformly between and among the bulkhead members. This poorly distributed loading, which creates non-uniform stresses in the bulkhead members, sometimes results in damage to some of the bulkhead members or distortion of the bulkhead from its intended configuration, or in extreme cases, in partial or total collapse of the bulkhead. Other types of prior art bulkheads may provide a relatively uniform surface for distributing the loads, e.g., a flat wall surface over substantially the entire bulkhead, but they typically do so at the cost of either weakening the bulkhead or using heavier materials than required, or of having to shore up the bulkhead with pilings, sunken rods or pipes, or the like.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a surface on at least one side of the bulkhead against which the supporting members may be placed, if desired, so that the contact between the supporting members, e.g., on a flat surface thereof, and the bulkhead members is substantially uniform over the bulkhead and the load on the bulkhead is substantially uniformly distributed between and among the bulkhead members. It is another object of the present invention to accomplish the foregoing without having to use excessively heavy materials, and without weakening the bulkhead or having to shore it up with extraneous means.
In addition, the side of the bulkhead facing the water should be substantially free of sharp corners, edges, supporting rods or pilings, connecting clamps, nuts or bolts, or other such protrusions, because they could be hazardous to passing boats or other water traffic, or to swimmers, water skiers, or other water sports aficionados in the area.
Hence, it is another object of the present invention to provide a bulkhead having a water side which is relatively safe to passing persons or property, while at the same time enjoying the benefits of uniform loading and stress distribution on the landward side, as mentioned previously.
Because bulkheads are often used along an entire property line, it is desirable to provide a bulkhead that can be constructed easily and effectively to extend along and span virtually an unlimited length of water-land interface. It is also desirable to provide a bulkhead that can be constructed easily across such a great distance without requiring complicated bulkhead member assembling, fastening, and supporting means.